Step 14: A Quick Chat About Software

Step 15: Close up & Closing Remarks

Now that we've got your Gameboy totally maxed out on mods- it's time to cram everything inside, and screw it all back together... It's kinda sad in a...

New to the Gameboy 'Chiptune' Scene? Or maybe your still trying to get to the bottom of what this whole Chiptune thing is? No matter your situation, by the end of this Instructable, I can promise you'll be a pro!

Relatively new to the 'LSDJ' scene myself, I was baffled when I tried to put together my first DMG- so many options, yet so little troubleshooting guides! Seeing the need for more structured tutorials, i planned to put my own together- that is, after i could figure everything out!

Fast forward a few months, and here I am! A bit more experienced in working with the Gameboy, and electronic skills increased, I started working on the group of tutorials within this Instructable to help others conquer the DMG, helping you make an awesome, custom instrument, all of your own!

Now, of course it would help to have a little background in electronics, but for those of you just starting out, have no fear! I've made sure to document each step, taking plenty of pictures along the way! I can almost guaranty you'll have no trouble! (and, of course, if you ever have trouble, just comment! I'll be sure to help!)

Now follow me, on a journey, as you and I turn our ordinary ol' Gameboys into something truly worth making music on!

Oh! but before we get started: If you like the Instructable, or are following it to build your own DMG- Please consider voting for it as a winner in the Music Instruments Contest! It's just a quick click- and I'd really Appreciate it! Thanks!

Thank you guys so much for your votes! It's because of you i placed in the Musical Instruments Contest- i really appreciate it!

Update (9/30): Having finally finished the two main builds featured, i thought i'd come back to add some pics- as well as go more in-depth about my new found friend- the Pocket!

hi, i have a question \. My gameboy color's power light turns on and the screen goes black, it makes the little shiny sound when started but wont respond to buttons or any game hat I put on it. any suggestions?

I have 2 3mm green and 2 3mm blue leds with 82ohm resistors wired to the positives and they're ran in parallel. I also have a 4xLED white backlight installed, and the leds are hooked to a dpdt switch. that worked great so far.. but then I added a variable pitch mod and now I hear sound, but the screen is blank and it's not responding to button presses.. what's wrong? wire touching something perhaps? oh, and the leds are connected to a potentiometer(A20K) and so are the LEDs on the other side of the dpdt switch(but I connected the on/on's to eachother so the leds will stay on and the switch is for the variable mostly)

While doing the backlight, I was peeling the foil, but a lot of foil got stuck on the screen and only the adhesive part came off.. Is there any way to remove the foil without scraping it?Thanks for the tuto!

Hey! Sorry for the late reply! I guess I stopped getting email notifications for comments..? Anywho......

There's no real difference between putting in your own 1/8" jack, or using the original port.. Some people prefer to keep the original intact, so they can always hear that nice OG gain, but if that's not what you're looking for, wiring up prosound to that port can make the DMG look a lot more clean!

There's a few reasons this could be going down- I'll need some more info to be able to tell for sure..

What kind of backilight? Did it have a built in resistor? Did you put on in if not?

What ground/+5v line did you use?

You can see the Nintendo start up splash right? If so, It sounds to me like your screen is just using up too much power, and when the gameboy goes to load whatever game, it browns out.. (do you notice the screen getting more dim when this happens?)

I used a backlight kit I got from handheld legend. It works great, I'm just having a few minor issues with it. All my carts work, including the one I use for LSDJ, which is good. The main cart I'm having issue with is pokemon red. When the gameboy starts up it works fine except the nintendo logo doesn't appear and I don't hear the bell start up sound. The gameboy and backlight both start up but nothing appears on the screen. I don't think there's anything wrong with the cart since I've tried it with my gamecube GB player and it works fine, it just doesn't work with my DMG since I added the backlight.

As for the resistor, I'm not sure. The backlight works perfectly so it would appear that I installed it correctly. Another thing is that with my carts that DO work I'm getting garbled "nintendo" text at start up way more often. I know that isn't a major problem but I think it shows something funky is going on inside the gameboy.

Trouble with a pokémon game? Yep. Almost positive that's a power issue! The kit should have come with a 100 ohm resistor to put between the ground cable of the backlight and the ground pin.. Sound familiar? Try this.... Load up a LSDJ save, and hit start. Does the screen dim when the music plays? If so, the backlight's just drawing a bit too much current. It's a common thing, and not normally too big an issue, but pokémon games are notorious for their also high power usage..

Throwing the resistor in should fix any problems with carts! But as for the garbled logo..

This could mean a few other things... It's most likely also a symptom of low power-- Maybe the clock isn't pulsing just right..?

I wouldn't worry about it just yet, fixing the power issue will probs fix this too!

So can I try LSDJ on an ez flash cart that I have? Also is a GBC just as good as a DMG for chiptunes? I literally only heard about chiptunes because of this instructable, and I think it'd be something fun to try, but not drop a lot of money just to find out I don't like it.

If you're going to use paint pens, your best bet is going to be to:0) CLEAN THE GAMEBOY! maybe even sand it down a bit so that the paint sticks well...1) paint the GBC white (or w/e base color)2) use your paint pens to make your designs3) use a clear coat spray paint to 'seal' in the designs

Step three is crucial, because most paint pens are just acrylic- meaning water can was them off. The clear coat will also smooth out the surface, making it look nice and clean!

Thanks for the response. I need a basic wiring course I think. I just look at some line drawings and it seems to make sense. Excellent tutorial by the way. This is the largest collection of DMG modding I have found in one place. I really appreciate it.

Thats amazing! A while back i tried to make some chiptunes with a free software called FamiTracker. This software is great, but is a LOT easier if u have a MIDI controller, so I cant really make a decent song with it. Also it isn't genuine chiptunes. But this ible' is... just awesome. I'm seriously considering buying a game-boy now! P.S. whats whats a "rom" and a "GBC" ? Thank u SO much Ben :)

Just a question, I'm about to embark on modding both my Color and my DMG, but before I begin I wanted to make sure that everything you entailed in this guide applies to both the color as well as the DMG models unless specifically noted?

Say, if the circuitry in the color is vastly different from the DMG, would that affect the process of attempting any of the mods?

Also, does it matter the type of solder used when soldering down wires? Is a specific type recommended?